A Taliban truck bomber detonated around a ton of explosives on Monday outside a government complex in southern Afghanistan, wounding about 40 people in the latest attack of the summer fighting season.

A Taliban truck bomber detonated around a ton of explosives on Monday outside a government complex in southern Afghanistan, wounding about 40 people in the latest attack of the summer fighting season.

Women and children were among those injured in the attack at the gate of the complex in Zabul province, which includes several government buildings including the provincial council.

"Around 1,000 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack," local police chief Mirwais Noorzai said.

Deputy police chief Ghulam Jailani Farahi confirmed the casualties, adding that the wounded were all civilians and some were in critical condition.

The Taliban, waging a 13-year war against the US-backed Afghan government, claimed responsibility for the attack.

A blast triggered by a Taliban car bomber ripped through the parking lot of the justice ministry in Kabul last Tuesday, killing four people and wounding dozens of others.

The Afghan government has drawn public criticism for its inability to end insurgent attacks, a fact partly attributed by critics to infighting and a lengthy delay in finalizing a cabinet.